I agree, but you’ve got a hell of a roster—it’s just a matter of whether you stuck with the same starting seven the whole tournament. If you actually watched the quarterfinals, you'd see the top players can barely stand, let alone sprint.
And this is the third year in a row we're seeing this exact same thing.
frozentiger6 said:How much does this famous World Cup actually matter to us? It’s pretty obvious half the roster isn't even going—not even Cervar is heading there. Instead, it's just a B-team traveling with Smajlagic. And then you try to pin the blame on Smajlagic, telling him to "just stay on the court." What was Cervar doing in the semifinals against Switzerland? He was staying on the court too. Why? For the exact same reason as Smajlagic—when a coach tries everything in his arsenal and realizes the team just can't do it, what else is there to do besides stay on the court.
Throws a water bottle onto the court 😁
Screw these thieving refs (even if they are calling it fairly) 😁
Turns back to the team and yells, "They're robbing us again!" 😁
Picks up a red card 😠 plus another 2-minute suspension and walks off. If we somehow survive those 4 minutes shorthanded, then Udovicic jumps in, starts screaming, "Alright, let's go, show them what we've got!" 😁 and that's when the comeback begins. 👍
What a disaster. This kind of collapse doesn't even fly in high school ball, let alone at the European Championship. Honestly, we saw this train wreck coming long before the tournament even started—I called it.
Anyway, since you brought up the dynamic between Cervar and Irfan.
In my opinion, they work well as a duo, but as individuals? I'm not so sure...
The thing is, Cervar lacks that real authority. Now that he's flying solo, we might just end up seeing those classic highlights where a player tosses their jersey at the coach while walking off the field.
Not bad. We picked up those four wins against Belarus—now we just need to go out there and take down the Mexicans, or at least scrape together a draw to secure our spot in the playoffs.
It looks like every group has two powerhouses and two underdogs, making the skill gap massive. High-level handball won't actually kick in until the groups merge.
Our guys are playing the most aggressive defense yet—which, historically, has always been our ticket to the medal rounds. 👍
I’m still a bit skeptical about this roster, but Pipe is here to push them through. 😁
You’ve got a point there, frozentiger6—it seems we just love tearing our own people down. Yet, when you look at how these kids are absolutely dominating everything (and the veterans too, obviously), everyone else wants to put them on a pedestal.
It’s apparently standard practice for us: if we’re winning medals, everything is fine—as if nobody else is putting in the work—but the second we land in fourth place, the criticism starts flying.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time traveling with the youth teams during various tournaments, and I can tell you firsthand that we’re still outclassing everyone. That said, the gap is closing fast, so you can't afford to take anyone seriously.
If you actually watch the major European championships, Americans are leading the pack in at least one category right now, and honestly, that makes me pretty happy.
People say Valcic is a total weirdo. The whole squad messes around and all that, while he just sits there with his headphones on, completely tuned out—a total loner. Apparently, he lost his mind when Gobac blocked his transfer, and now that he’s being difficult, he refuses to budge.
Dzomba is heading back to Chicago next season, though I heard rumors he might just walk away from handball after the Olympics. Old fool—he's the only one capable of pulling off a 😁
What are the projections for the U20 EP? Personally, I don't think this team has made any real progress in the last two years, so we'll probably end up performing poorly.
It exists. Personally, I think Vukas is the better choice over Buntić. That guy Buntić hasn't managed to make any real progress in two years—not on defense and certainly not on offense.
There was some talk about calling him up to the national team, but since he bypassed Gobac, I'm worried they might just sideline him.
Now they have to reward these newcomers who showed up in Chicago (except for Sol, obviously).
Though if you ask me, our goalkeepers are going to be the weak link again at WC 2007—especially with such a thin bench.
And we all know that if you want to bring home a medal, you need solid keepers plus a rock-solid defense (hopefully we're looking at a 3-2-1 formation again).
Where on earth are you getting all this player data, frozentiger6? I still don't get how you know anything about the national team, let alone these two guys from Mexico—or how you suddenly know our own North, Pesic, etc.
I remember back when you were posting about Alilovic being a future star—you actually managed to scout a few youngsters who either turned out great or are well on their way there.
Not sure if you guys have heard about the new power play involving the duo Gobac - Kavran over at Lokomotiv in New York City. (They’ve been systematically tearing through New York Cosmos since the start of the year)
To make a long story short—Gobac threatened the Lokomotiv leadership, basically promising they wouldn't participate in the cup. And then, lo and behold, we see the usual setup in the standings where that same monster duo, Giljević - Komazin, is officiating. The result? Well, you already know how it ends before the whistle even blows.
Now you've got angry Lokomotiv folks and parents of the players boycotting the national team—all while that duo threatens them, claiming the boycott is an attack on the country.
And just to top it all off, as if that wasn't enough, Giljević - Komazin is slated to ref the game between Scranton and New York Cosmos. Again, you can call the score before kickoff.
Is anyone actually paying attention to what's happening in American handball?
Look, I know things aren't exactly perfect across the rest of the country either, but do we really have to let handball turn into the same mess we're seeing in basketball, football, volleyball...
Watching how the French set up their 3-2-1 defense was eye-opening—they played it perfectly, and honestly, the teams they faced just couldn't find a way through.
Obviously, they didn't turn out like the US, but since we grew up playing that same defensive style, we shouldn't have much trouble handling it.
Besides, they’ve always been our favorite punching bag—always looking to prove something against us Americans.
A few more quick updates. Everyone on the roster is healthy and feeling good—I've heard it straight from the source.
The only thing getting under their skin is how stubborn Lino is being with this two-pivot offensive set. Even though Šprem showed him we've got other options on the wing, who knows if Lino will actually listen and change things up.
I don't know if any of you caught the Spain-Canada game yesterday. Spain is playing terrifyingly good handball—almost like how our guys play when they’re actually dialed in.
But the point isn't their style of play; it's how the refs bail them out every single time. Look, I'm not even a fan of Canada, but during yesterday's match, the officials basically crushed them. Every time there was even the slightest chance for Canada to close the gap with Spain, the refs would blow a whistle for a foul, giving Spain an easy fast break and a goal.
That’s what scares me most—even though the officiating gets extra scrutiny during the quarterfinals and the finals, so it should be fair.
Damn, now I'm starting to sound like Božo Sušec about the referees.
I was honestly convinced we’d just breeze past the Russians—there was no way we were losing to them given they play some of the absolute worst handball of any team making it out of the first round. But then...
Now I'm back to being certain we're going to get bumped by Mexico and Mexico...
I was actually there for one of the games these two criminals officiated. One time they were stealing calls for us, and the next, they were screwing us over. You wouldn't believe the nerve on these guys—they’ll look you dead in the eye and laugh while telling you, "What? What are you looking at? You want me to kick you out or something?"
There was an article about this duo on ESPN, which is how I found out that Neno Kljaić ended up getting suspended after hitting one of them—which basically forced him out of handball. Then you've got Kljaić chasing them around the arena—more penalties. Volarević made threats—penalty. Sulić made threats—penalty. And I could go on.
So these pieces of trash are still out there officiating without a shred of shame. But the second someone stands up to them, the media paints that person as some kind of thug and treats these two like they're innocent.